book review: the one-straw revolution

i can't even remember where i heard about this one, but something about it (and the reviews it got) piqued my interest so i ordered it from the library. it's been sitting on the shelf for three weeks untouched while i worked on your money or your life by joe dominguez but when i got the renewal email yesterday and realized that a) both books were on hold and so couldn't be renewed, and b) there was no way i could adequately get through the one i was reading, i decided to spend the day reading the one-straw revolution: an introduction to natural farming by masanobu fukuoka between laundry loads.

at 181 pages, i figured it would be a quick, easy read. it was. but the ideas in the book were deceptive in their simplicity. the four precepts: no cultivation, no chemical fertilizers or prepared compost, no weeding by tillage or herbicides, and no dependence on chemicals, seem like a fairy tale, but in his experience have led to the highest, most consistent grain production in his region.

the book reads almost like a series of zen koans or the teachings of buddha, every word about so much more than farming. the anticipated how-to on pest and weed avoidance was really a call to re-evalute your relationship with food, farming, the world and yourself — ironically and oddly similar to dominguez' approach to money management. interesting to have borrowed them both on the same day.

there was a time i would have called this book life-altering, but today i know it would be contrary to the spirit of the book, so instead i will say it was a gentle but powerful reminder of what i already intrinsically know and where i am hoping to take my life but which has been buried in the side-effects of my current life.

i have already chosen a book to add the sell pile to make room for this one on my shelf.

eco-guilt

i read this great article this morning about how many people in the bay area are having trouble coping with increasing effects of eco-anxiety. i am definitely one of those people.

i thought the move would help with this. it did, in a lot of ways:

- decreased my commute from 2.5 hours per day to 15 minutes per day (and my gas comsumption from 1.5 tanks per week to 1/4 tank per week)
- significantly decreased water and power usage due to smaller, better insulated place to heat and no yard to water
- grocery and other key ammenities within walking distance

but it also hurt:

- no yard to grow food [but may be able to do it in pots]
- no space for composter [but my mom now has my composter so i can take stuff to her - only 20 miles away]
- can't walk to the library [but can bart]
- doctor, PO box, etc. are now a much farther drive

and then there's the water issue... apparently britta doesn't filter out whatever in my tap upsets my stomach so i'm buying for now, but i hope to get that worked out soon.

and there is always more i could do... take shorter showers, turn off circuit breakers and unplug appliances, take the stairs, run errands on my bike instead of in the car, turn down the heat... it can all get so overwhelming...

the good news is, when i get too stressed about how much progress i have yet to make, i can just check out a carbon footprint calculator or two. if you use the basic earth day calculator, my footprint went from 40 acres (9.1 planets) to 14 (3.2 planets) since my move. average footprint in the US is 24. if you use the more advanced EPA calculator, it went from 60,392 pounds per year to 19,185. average is 41,500. either way, i've come a long way.